“He Made a Lot of People Proud”: Coach PC Vignesh on Hitesh Chauhan’s Heroic French Open Fight
Hitesh Chauhan’s spirited run at the Roland-Garros Junior Championships came to an end in the second round after a nail-biting three-set battle against World No. 9 Benjamin Willwerth. Despite losing 2-6, 6-2, 6-7, Hitesh’s performance earned widespread praise. We spoke with his coach, PC Vignesh, to get his thoughts on the match and Hitesh’s journey.
ITD: Hi, Vignesh. That was a heroic fight from Hitesh. What are your thoughts on the match?
PC Vignesh: It was a great fight and a good match. After a poor first set, the way he came back in the second set and the way he hung in there to compete in the third was very impressive.
ITD: He certainly had his chances. In the third set, he was up 4-2 and had a break point. What do you think went wrong at that crucial moment?
PC Vignesh: From the outside, it felt like he started to overthink a little bit. I think he slowed down, and there were a few loose errors and a double fault to get broken at that stage. Being solid was the most important thing for the team, and unfortunately, it didn’t happen.
Even though he lost that service game, to hold his next two service games and take it to a tiebreak was big for me. He held his nerves and was focused. In the tiebreak, he was ahead at 2-1, 3-2, 4-3, 5-4, and even had a match point at 6-5. I felt in those moments, he should have taken a few more chances and been more aggressive and brave. But it was a great learning experience for him. I think he has made a lot of people proud with the way he competed. It’s a proud moment for us.
ITD: Today’s opponent was a junior Grand Slam finalist at the Australian Open, and Hitesh came into this match with three good wins against top-60 clay-court specialists. Do you think this run gives him a lot of confidence?
PC Vignesh: Definitely. I think he is really, really comfortable on clay. I have seen him on hardcourts, and he didn’t seem as comfortable as he does on this surface. He was moving really well in all these matches. Deep down, as he went into the match and started playing, I think he started believing in himself. Today, against a finalist, it felt that the game was there.
He just had to be a little more brave and perhaps introduce a little more variation into his game. If he had a Plan B and a Plan C, maybe that could have helped him. Nevertheless, it’s a great learning experience, and this is the way to go. You lose tough matches, it builds your character, you learn from it, and you just move forward.
ITD: Is there anything more you want to add?
PC Vignesh: Yes, I would like to give a special mention to Adi Sir, Aditya sir, and the Round Glass team for their incredible effort. Adi Sir’s work has helped lay the foundation, and I was able to build on that in these matches. Round Glass has been very supportive of all the players. I’m really happy that they are supporting Hitesh and the other guys, and they are doing a great job. Thank you.
